Random Acts of Kindness Can Go a Long Way
by hollyhalebforeverlove
Summary: Thanksgiving is the time to be grateful for everything you have. But what if you're missing something? During the meal, a sweet orphan girl comes into a childless couple, Esme and Carlisle's life at just the right time. More of a mother-daughter story...


**One shot for Thanksgiving! Please read, review, and enjoy!**

The bell rang, signaling the end of class for the students of Forks Middle School. Bree Tanner hurried out of the building, sparing a glance at Mrs. Cullen, and darted to the nearest hiding place where no one could find her.

The city bus traveled all day long and this was the last one, since it was a holiday. She'd been dropped off after paying a measly two dollars to go from her home in Seattle to a random place in Forks near her school. She was cold and had no place to sleep at night. No place warm, anyway.

Bree hugged her jacket tighter around herself. The frigid wind whistled and blew her hair in every direction, making her appear frazzled. She could remember the day she ran from home. Nobody even looked for her. Nobody even cared. Well, good, she didn't want them to. She liked being alone where no one could touch her. All she wanted was a family, a home, and a nice meal...the last thought made her stomach growl.

Today was Thanksgiving, she realized. Today was Thanksgiving but her "family", which only consisted of her slavedriver Riley and members of the Volturi, never celebrated the holiday. She didn't know who her real parents were, but this guy Riley was a Nazi. He hated her because she was Jewish and all he did was beat and rape her.

She'd had enough and thought that a cold, hard spot on a corner of the street was a better place to live, even if she had to beg for money or food. She was so desperate that she was arrested a few times for shoplifting at a local convenience store. She had been in juvy hall several times for fighting in school. She had to use her fists because these bitches wouldn't stop calling her a whore for being impreganated by Riley twice a year since she started puberty. All of them were miscarriages, but she was only thirteen. She couldn't handle having a baby anyway.

The girl had long black straight hair that was always soaked with rain and her face was constantly covered with tears. She had a Goth look about her and when people called her emo, they were right. She was emo, but for a very good reason. When they made fun of her, that's where they were wrong.

Everyone also thought she was terrible in school, but she wasn't. She was one of the best students in class. She picked a good place to live and never told anyone she was living alone in the streets. She stayed after school to finish her homework in the library. She had the luxury of having Mrs. Cullen as a teacher, but she didn't want to tell her that she was basically an orphan. What would Mrs. Cullen think of her then? A useless piece of shit, that was for sure. She had no friends and she felt like a loser for only confiding in a teacher, so she didn't.

At the Cullen house, however, there was a hustle and bustle of activity as husband and wife planned the meal with everyone they loved and adored.

"Esme, this was such a wonderful idea to have all of our close friends, their families, and our parents gather together for Thanksgiving, and at our house no less!" Carlisle praised his wife. He spun her around and gave her a kiss. "It's perfect since last Thanksgiving it was just you and I,"

"I agree. Thanksgiving brings everyone together, and it was mine and the girls' idea anyway. I just hope I don't get too upset...I mean, everyone but us has children to dote upon. It's all my fault," Esme looked down, dejected.

Carlisle lifted her chin so her eyes could meet his. "Baby, it's not your fault. It's _his_ damn fault. He made you this way so you would become infertile. I could just kill him, but he's already dead from drinking too much,"

"Yeah, at least we can still do it," she giggled. "But it's boring, right?"

"It's never boring with you, honey," he assured her and stroked her hair. "I love you so much,"

"I love you too," she whispered into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head and they both brought out the many chairs to go down the long wooden table. They would have a huge feast tonight, with plenty to go around. The husbands and kids of Esme's friends would come over to help him out with decorating, but Esme and her girls would be going shopping to buy everything. The doorbell rang, and that was probably them now.

"Have fun, sweetie," Carlisle said, kissing her cheek and then full on the lips. They pulled away from each other a second later because the girls were getting impatient. The kids and their dads scrambled inside to escape the chilly air. Esme buttoned up her coat, smoothed down her caramel-colored hair, and wrapped a pink scarf around her neck. She was all ready to go, so she linked arms with Renee and Lily, her two very best friends, with Elizabeth looping arms with Renee. Two groups of four walked down the street. Esme could see her own breath as she spoke.

"So how many people are coming? I know me, Carlisle, you guys and your husbands, so that makes sixteen..."

"Plus the children, starting with mine and Charlie's. Alice, Bella, Emmett, Cynthia-" Renee counted up in her head. "Twenty,"

"Rosalie, Vera, Jasper, Kate, Peter, and Charlotte...twenty-six," Lily added.

"Angela, Nessie-" Carmen continued.

"That's twenty-eight. I have Jacob, Rebecca, Rachel, so now, thirty-one," Sarah went on.

"Leah, Seth, Emily, Claire-thirty-five," Sue chimed in.

"Maggie," Siobhan said.

"And of course, Edward," Elizabeth finished. "So that's thirty-seven in total,"

"Wow," Esme let out a low whistle. "Nice job crankin' em out, ladies," That made her friends giggle and shove her to the side playfully. She didn't want to show her jealousy.

As they walked into the store, they were each assigned a specific food to get. Esme was in charge of the pie, her favorite, so she bought ten cans of pumpkin pie mix and a dozen apples. Doing the math in her head, she figured everyone would get two slices each, as she would cut the pie into seven equal pieces. There would be two left over, but she didn't mind.

The cashier looked surprised as the women put all their food they had just purchased into the cart. "Big family, huh?"

"Yeah, it's a gathering, something special," Lily murmured, and they walked out of the store, each holding what they were in charge of making. The preparation would take all day and they would have dinner by six or seven.

It was starting to get dark, so they stuck close together. They never knew what hid in the blackness behind the alleys, and they sure didn't want to find out. There was a small figure huddled by a streetlamp and Esme could barely make her out. She knew the person was female, because of the long hair and dress she was wearing. The girl turned her head and Esme gasped.

"Bree?" she called out.

"Go away!" the voice snapped.

"What are you doing out here?" Esme asked the poor girl.

"Just hanging out. What are you doing? Go home, Mrs. Cullen. I see you have people with you, so go have fun with them,"

Esme closed her eyes, very unsure of what she should do. One of her students was now a runaway and was in desperate need of attention, but she seemed not to want it.

"Sweetie, what are you doing out here by yourself? Where is your family?" she repeated.

Bree's heart clenched at her favorite teacher's words. Her kind and gentle tone made her want to cry and bury herself into Mrs. Cullen's warm embrace. But she couldn't sound all whiny and pathetic, could she? She had to be brave and rough it, Thanksgiving or not.

"I-I don't know..." the girl gasped through her oncoming tears. "Please, just go home and have fun...I'm waiting for someone to pick me up,"

"We're just going to Esme's house for a huge feast and you can come with us," Renee invited her.

Bree thought of the smells of food, especially during Thanksgiving, and the laughter as everyone talked during the meal and all the stories they would share...who all would be there? She swallowed hard. She wanted to run, but she wanted to appear strong. So she declined. "No thank you, Mrs. Swan,"

"We insist, come on," Carmen tried to persuade the stubborn young girl, but to no avail.

"Okay, then," Elizabeth sighed. The eight of them walked home, feeling useless.

"Don't worry, girls, she'll come around..." Sarah predicted.

The men were at work still, and the house was almost decorated and looking pretty. The kids had cleaned up the house as well and now it looked spotless. Esme couldn't believe the obvious change in her house. She was astonished at how well everyone had done while she and the girls were getting the food. No one even noticed the women come in. They were all too busy.

She wandered around the house, looking at all the colorful decorations and the beautifully set tables. Everyone had name cards and the girls sat on one side, the boys on the other, at the children's table. At the adults' table, the men and women would sit in a circle.

When she came back into the kitchen, she saw Sue, Siobhan, Sarah, and Carmen working on the turkey. Lily was whipping up mashed potatoes with gravy and Elizabeth was making the sweet potatoes. Renee was in charge of the cranberry sauce and green beans. Esme had a nice start on the pies, pumpkin and apple.

Meanwhile, the men were finishing up. They were pleased to see their wives cooking and offered to help. But Esme shook her head. "Guys, you've done enough. We ladies can finish up,"

Carlisle put his arms around his wife's waist. "Yeah, you look like you got it, but you have kind of a faraway look in your eye,"

"It's because we saw Bree while we were walking home from shopping. She looked lost and broken...I offered for her to have Thanksgiving with us, but she refused. We kept at it for five minutes,"

"Hey, at least you tried," Carlisle said, kissing her on the lips.

They were all young adults, in their late twenties and early thirties, so their kids were between the ages of eleven and seventeen. None of them knew Bree. Some of them were small, like two-year-old Claire and five-year-old Maggie. The elementary schoolers were eleven-year-old Cynthia, ten-year-old Kate, nine-year-old Leah, and seven-year-old Seth. The teenagers who were in high school were fourteen-year-olds Alice and Jasper, fifteen year olds Rosalie and Emmett, sixteen year olds Vera, Peter and Charlotte, and seventeen year olds Emily, Edward, Bella, Jacob, Nessie, Angela, Rebecca, and Rachel. The tables were pushed together so everyone could hold hands and say grace.

As soon as the huge groups sat down at the large tables to eat-sixteen adults and twenty-one children under the age of eighteen. There was one extra chair there, taking up space. They had no idea what to do with it.

Carlisle and Esme's form of grace wasn't that 'blessed be our Lord for these gifts we are about to receive' nonsense. Well, it was nonsense to them, anyway. They weren't religious freaks at all. Their tradition was to have everyone at the table announce what they were thankful for before everyone began to eat. Carlisle, being the gentleman he was, let Esme go first. She looked him in the eyes and their gazes were fixed on each other's.

"When I first met you, I was sixteen. You fixed up my broken leg when I fell out of that silly old tree and we had a moment when I landed in your office. You were the assistant, but you did so much better than the old doctor. You're such a good doctor and a wonderful husband. After that evil Charles took me from you when I was twenty-two, you were lost without me. I couldn't move on either, baby. But when I was twenty-five, you found me...about to jump off that bridge. A year later, we're still happily married, so I thank you every day, and of course I'm thankful for my many friends who have gathered here today to celebrate this lovely holiday with us. You guys are truly family."

Everyone smiled warmly at her, and then Carlisle went after his wife.

"I am so grateful I found you when I did, because honestly, I don't know how I could survive, knowing you were dying at the hands of that monster or jumping to your death at your young age. When I looked into your beautiful green eyes when we were just teenagers, I fell in love with you. I know it sounds crazy, but I did. I could tell you liked me then too. I have never been so blessed to be with another woman in my life before you. You just...complete me, Esme. I love my friends as well, I'm gracious for you all to be here."

"Awww," several people murmured as Carlisle and Esme shared a short but sweet kiss. Maggie and Claire screamed, "EEEEWWW!" and everyone laughed.

"I'm thankful for my husband, Charlie, and our beautiful children. And how could I not mention my best friend Esme and her baby boy?" Renee kissed Charlie on the cheek and squeezed her kids' hands from the other table. She gave Esme a huge hug as well.

"I'm so happy with Renee and we have great kids, and obviously, my buddies, Carlisle, Eleazar, Will, Liam, Billy, Edward, and Harry," Charlie agreed, kissing Renee on the lips, amid the sounds of "Eeewww, gross!"

"You guys mean the world to me," Lily said, gesturing to them all. Everyone pretty much said the same thing. Now, it was the kids' turn.

The little ones didn't have much to say except for that they loved pie and that's really all they wanted. They would get the true meaning of Thanksgivng soon enough. But the order went from youngest to oldest, and as the ages got closer to high school, everyone was thanking their significant other for being there for them when they were down. For example, Emmett saved Rosalie from a bunch of jerks in an alley, including her ex, Royce, and Jasper fought off James for Alice. The teens also said they were thankful for their parents and to have a great family home because a lot of others don't have a nice place to live.

When everyone was finished saying thanks, they let go of each other's joined hands and started to eat. No less than a second later, there was a rapid knocking on the door. Everyone looked at each other and Esme was the one who decided to get up and get the door. She quickly chewed and swallowed her bite of mashed potato with gravy and asked, "Who is it?"

"Bree," the faint voice answered on the other side of the door.

The family behind Esme gasped. She had come after all. Esme opened the door for the young girl and let her in. She was soaked to the skin and absolutely freezing with teeth chattering, and when she came inside the house, it felt hot to her. The house was being heated by a nearby fire, which she'd never had in her old house and certainly not out in the deserted alleys. The smell of the food was enticing and her mouth watered. She was still shivering to the core, even wrapped in Esme's arms.

"Come on in, dear. How did you find my house?" she asked in amazement.

"I-I followed you, I hope you don't mind," Bree responded in a tiny voice.

"No, no, of course, I'd love to have you join us. There's a chair for you right next to Vera. Let me get you some warm clothes to change into and how would you like a hot bath? There's a shower upstairs in my room."

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Cullen."

"It's just Esme, sweetie pie," she said with a warm smile. "Now, follow me, I don't want you to catch a cold in those clothes,"

Esme poked her head into the dining room where all her guests were just staring at the interaction. Nobody dared to move until Bree came back downstairs, showered and dressed in a cute blue blouse and jeans. She was fast, to be polite.

"I'm so sorry, you guys. I've kept you from dinner," she apologized profusely.

"It's okay," everyone said in unison.

"Come on, baby, you can eat with us," Esme urged her forward and Bree cautiously sat down. She immediately made friends with everyone at the table. Then she began to tell her story as she devoured the delicious meal, the first she'd had in such a long time. They all gave her a hug after that.

A few hours later, the dinner was complete, The children were all too eager to eat the pie, but they knew they had to wait until after dinner. The older ones, however, were able to restrain themselves and save their appetite for the pie.

Esme giggled when Bree ate hers in a matter of seconds. "Would you like another piece, darling?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She let the 'ma'am' slide, assuming it was out of habit, but she hoped Bree would grow out of that quickly.

Everyone shared stories and watched the game on TV. They laughed, cheered, and devoted on each other until it was time for them to go home. Carlisle and Esme knew Bree didn't have a home and they needed to adopt her. She was just perfect.

While Carlisle cleaned up, Esme hunted around the house to find a few pillows for Bree to sleep on. They had a guest room, but the pillows were sort of hard. She wanted a soft pillow for her little girl. When she found one, she laid the pink pillow on the bed and picked out some pajamas for Bree. The girl came just in time.

"Bedtime already? Time flies when you're having fun!"

"It sure does," Esme laughed. "But if you want, you can watch TV downstairs or use my MacBookPro to surf the internet until midnight,"

"No, thanks. I'd rather talk to you, woman to woman."

"Alright, sounds great," Esme lifted the covers to reveal a spot for Bree to slide into and rest her head on the pillow, and that she did. When Bree was tucked in, Esme sat on the side of her bed and started stroking her hair. Bree made a sound of approval and stared up at the woman lovingly. Her heart shaped face, green eyes, and caramel curls reminded her of someone. She blinked, trying to remember who looked like Esme in her past life.

"What are you thinking, baby?" Esme asked after Bree hadn't spoken a word for a few minutes.

"I dunno...you just look like um...my mom, I guess?"

Esme beamed at the comment. She took it as a compliment. "I do? Thank you, sweetie,"

"You're welcome. I barely remember her. She died when I was little, and from then on, I was a Jewish slave to this Nazi. I know you're not supposed to be prejudiced against Jews, but he was, after sixty years since the Holocaust," She shivered even in the comfortable bed, so Esme helped Bree sit up and wrap her arms around her waist. Her head was snuggled into Esme's chest. The love radiating from her was so strong that Bree felt like crying of happiness.

"Since you told me about your life, let me tell you about mine. I met Dr. Cullen when I was sixteen, and he was the doctor's assistant. I had just broken my leg falling out of a tree, and then I ended up falling in love with the doctor's assistant."

"What were you doing up in a tree?" Bree giggled.

"I wanted to get a ball someone had kicked up there by the playground. We lived near a school," Esme explained. "It's amusing now, but then, it was so painful when I heard the bone snap,"

"Ouch," Bree winced. "So what happened after you met the cute doctor's assistant?"

Esme blushed, remembering. "Our eyes met and glazed over. We were in love with each other, but he had to move away from Ohio, where I grew up, and this man, Charles asked for my hand in marriage. I was indifferent but then that feeling turned to fear because he used to beat and rape me from when I was twenty-two to when I ran away and I was twenty-five. I was pregnant, but my baby died in my arms,"

"I'm so sorry, that's tragic," Bree looked down sadly.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, it has a happy ending. Dr. Cullen found me just in time as I was about to jump off a bridge. He saved me and we married last year. But because of Charles, I can't have children after my baby died of cancer,"

"I'm sorry again, that you can't have babies. But I'm happy you met Carlisle after all those years."

"I'm okay now. I'm so happy you're my new daughter."

"Daughter?" Bree asked, surprised, and Esme nodded with a bright grin.

"I love you, Esme," She hugged the woman tightly again around the waist, and Esme rocked them back and forth.

"I love you too. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you too,"

They both put their past demons to rest while Esme laid Bree down to really go to sleep. It was the best sleep she'd had in such a long time.

"So she's ours now?" Carlisle asked his wife when she slipped in bed to join him.

"She sure is. We're gonna dote on her, protect her, and live for her, even when she moves out,"

"She's our miracle baby,"

"I know. Happy Thanksgiving, Carlisle. I love you,"

"I love you too, Esme, with all my heart. Oh, and happy Thanksgiving," he chuckled and kissed her.

A few months and a couple of adoption papers later, Bree was calling Esme and Carlisle 'Mom' and 'Dad', and they were the happiest parents in the world with the best daughter anyone could ever ask for. They loved her and she loved them.

But what really started it all was Thanksgiving and the beauty of bringing family and friends together to celebrate the holiday. Bree was the most wonderful addition at all of the dinners, parties, and dances they took her to, and she was never depressed again. Her life was fantastic! It was all thanks to Carlisle and Esme, the coolest parents in existence.

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**


End file.
